Year || 503 Season || Winter Temp || -10℉ (-23℃) to 55℉ (12℃) Weather || Winter has left a blanket of pristine white snow in many parts of Novus. Only Solterra remains mostly untouched by the season's frosted hold, but even the desert may feel a cold breath of wind now and then. With Winter now settled across the continent, dreams of Spring dance in the minds of many.

Hearing Rhone’s words caused the older twin to pause. His turquoise eyes widened minutely for a moment, mouth partially open in a positively flabbergasted expression as an ear tipped back. Magic? Beside him, Ard shifted in a hardly perceivable shudder.

Oh, he knew that the magic of Novus ran deep, its sources akin to leylines within the very earth beneath their hooves. Magic was common, here. So common that it was almost normal. This place was not like Luminous, where the use of magic was feared and outlawed. Yet no matter how long the twins had been safe, away from the hellish life they had lived before, hearing magic spoken about so openly was still very strange.

“You know magic?” Erd questioned after a moment of passing silence, knowing that he and his brother’s uncertainty about it all was quite obvious. There was a notable underlay of awe to his voice, his round eyes regarding the bay stallion with a newfound sense of interest. Breaking eye contact but for a moment, the older of the two ivory youths turned his head to cast a curious glance towards Ard, judging his reaction to it all before looking back to Rhone.

“Ard and I had magic, back where we came from. Being here, in Novus… It’s strange, finding so many other who had magic. Back home it wasn’t really okay to have magic. You know?” Maybe Rhone didn’t. Maybe magic was normal where he came from, too. Erd couldn’t even imagine.

It had been a curse, back home. It had been the reason of their abandonment and resulting enslavement to Vreis and his the following cruelty they had suffered from. It was because of the rebel leader that Ard was the way he was; sullen, reclusive, afraid to utter a single word... Regardless, the magic that they had once hated possessing was now gone, and Erd knew that he didn’t speak for himself when he claimed to miss it. The yearning for power, the raw electricity flowing through their veins, channeling from one brother to the other to create a mighty arc…

Shaking his head, the ivory youth did his best to just shrug it all off. Now wasn’t the time to get lost in those memories, not when they were so laced with darkness and pain. The boy forced a chipper smile and rolled back his narrow shoulders, forcing himself to relax. In the same motion, he once more gingerly buffeted his brother with the dorsal side of his wing. Ard’s troubled expression remained.

“I bet Asterion would really appreciate your help, no matter how strong your magic might be. If you were thinking about heading back, maybe Ard and I could walk with you? After all, the more the merrier, right?” That, and maybe with Rhone around, large as he was, the curious creatures of the world might leave the two petite twins alone. It was a thought, at least.

Turning his head, Erd glanced imploringly back at Ard with that same grin, affection shining in his eyes. ”Ard? What do you think?”

@Rhone - I wasn't sure if you would like to wrap this thread up or not? :D I left it ambiguous, just in case!

Ard shared his brother’s initial reaction of surprise at the mention of magic.

The younger brother’s muscles tensed however perceivable it might appear to the untrained eye, his jaw clenching as sharp teal eyes narrowed. The scrutiny of the rich bay gentleman only increased, but as Rhone’s posture changed and he straightened himself up, very aware of the scrutiny, Ard did not look away. There was nothing imposing about the way that Rhone stood, his expression remaining that open, heart-on-a-sleeve sort of charm. His doleful eyes seemed only to promise that he meant them no harm, along with the words that caused Ard’s pale ears to slip back into the curls of taupe hair.

Magic.

It was a familiar feeling. A familiar desire. He knew that he would never stop missing the feeling of raw, powerful, dangerous energy coursing through his veins, with Ard’s intimate ability of scooping that very energy from his being and cultivating it into something lethal. On a battlefield, they were fatal. Perhaps that was why Vreis had cherished them as his ‘perfect pets’...

Remembering the rebel leader caused him to shudder. That was a life Ard did not miss and not one he was keen on recalling. Maybe later, hidden away in the privacy offered within their room in Terratella. He did miss the feeling of that visceral bond between he and Erd, however. There was something unexplained about it, not that he would really try. Least of all to Rhone. Not that the kindred bay had any knowledge of the fact, nor did Ard think he would ask.

The more that he stood there, assessing and judging, the more that the young warlock began to realize that maybe Rhone was exactly what he claimed to be; an innocent man searching for a place to settle down and spend a few years of peaceful existence before death inevitably came for him. Gradually, the tension within Ard’s frame began to loosen and he let out a long, drawn out breath before nodding gently to the taller man. Very well, then.

Glancing towards Erd, Ard offered a shrug and a slight inclination of the head, knowing that his twin would be able to pick apart the meaning. There was no harm in walking with Rhone back towards Terrastella, even though it would be a hell of a long walk. Ah, well. Why the hell not?

He hadn’t even thought that the idea of magic might be foreign to someone. In his eyes, magic was the norm. In the land that he had been born in, where he had lived and served, everyone was born with magic. The more they grew and worshiped, the greater their magic became. "Aye, I used to be very powerful." He could sense that the idea that he had magic was making the two of them a bit uneasy. The last thing he ever wanted was to make someone uncomfortable. So instead, he settled on just saying that he was powerful, not telling him the specifics. "But my magic here is very weak." Perhaps it would grow in time, he hoped. If not, he would just have to be happy with what he was given.

Rhone listened to Erd speak, nodding softing in understanding. He had heard of lands where magic was unheard of, even scorned. Such places still baffled him, but he supposed it was only the opposite of where he was from. "In the land where I spend most of my days, every new life was born with some sort of control over an element. It was rare to not have magic at all. Some of us even controlled many elements." He left out the part that he had some sort of control over at least 6 or 7 elements, sever of them mastered.

However, what Erd did not realize was that his agreement that Asterion would be happy to have his help, even if his magic was so small, was enough to make the bay feel a little more like he might actually belong here. He wasn’t quite sure how to voice his feelings on the matter, so he let it drop completely. But the look in his eye was enough to tell the twins that he was appreciative of them being there.

At Erd’s words about walking back to Terrestella, he nodded softly. "Company would be nice." When he asked his brother if he was in agreement for another to join their journey, Rhone looked to him. He knew the other was silent, a little judgmental, but his opinion still mattered. And if Rhone was being honest with himself, he thought he saw a change in the other, a softer side to the tough exterior. But he said nothing, it wasn’t his place after all. "Lead the way." The journey would be long and he had no idea where he was going.